A three-year extension of the Department of Homeland Security’s Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards (CFATS) program approved by a House Homeland Security subcommittee this month includes language to continue the statutory exemption of drinking water and wastewater facilities from CFATS oversight.
Sponsored by Rep. Patrick Meehan (R-Penn.), the bill (H.R. 4007) would make only minor changes to CFATS, but would offer the program more stability going forward. For the past several years Congress has repeatedly approved temporary CFATS extensions by attaching language to annual appropriations bills, so H.R. 4007’s three-year authorization would guarantee the program’s continuation through at least 2017.
Subcommittee ranking member Yvette Clarke (D-N.Y.) called attention to the water and wastewater utility exemption during markup, offering an amendment to eliminate all statutory CFATS exemptions, and another to request a study of the homeland security implications of exempting water and wastewater facilities. Neither of these amendments won subcommittee approval, and are unlikely to win additional support when the full Homeland Security Committee considers H.R. 4007. The full panel is scheduled to take up the bill on April 30.